"Labyrinth Runners" is the eighteenth episode of the second season of The Owl House, and the thirty-seventh episode overall.
It premiered on May 7, 2022.
Synopsis
When the Emperor's Coven comes to Hexside, Gus teams up with an unlikely ally.[2]
Plot
After Gus, when he was younger, skips forward two grades, he puts together a Titan skeleton project with his new "friend" but becomes distraught when he learns said "friend" was having him do all the work so that he could get a good grade while he slacked off. He runs to an empty classroom, where he unwillingly projects a large-scale illusion in which his fake friend and another student taunt him. It's interrupted by a talking abomination, and Gus then meets the girl controlling it. She shows him a breathing exercise her dads taught her, and Gus calms down, making the illusion disappear. The girl introduces herself as Willow, and Gus introduces himself in turn. The two soon become best friends.
In the present, Mattholomule, Emira, and Edric Blight have begun taking multi-track studies, and Principal Bump expresses his surprise that the students are so enthusiastic about learning as a result of this to the Illusion teacher, right as a cloaked figure enters the room. At lunch, Willow, Gus, and Amity talk about their concerns for Luz as Willow reveals that the Owl House was surrounded by Coven Scouts when she went to assess the situation. Amity mistakes Willow as not being able to take out the Coven Scouts before Willow gets the chance to finish her sentence, revealing she simply didn't want to draw attention to Eda and Luz. As Gus goes to throw his lunch away, he sees Flapjack and follows him to the auditorium, where he finds Hunter and realizes he has been camping out in the school, since he had a problem with where to live, with Hexside as his only option. Embarrassed, Hunter refuses to go into detail, but just then, Bump calls everyone to the gym. Gus leaves, but gives Hunter some food on the way out.
Once everyone is gathered, Bump reveals they have a visitor, Adrian Graye Vernworth, the head of the Illusion Coven. He tells the students that Belos has decreed all students must be placed in a coven by the Day of Unity, startling the students, and making Mattholomule angrily tear off his arm sleeves, but Adrian says he will give them fake temporary coven sigils as protection. He brings up Edric to demonstrate, but suddenly, Gus realizes that he is trying to actually brand them and breaks the illusion, revealing 'Adrian' to be a guard captain. The real Adrian then reveals himself and dozens of scouts, and after criticizing them, tries to brand Gus with an abomination coven sigil for exposing his scheme. Overwhelmed with panic, Gus unintentionally creates a shifting illusion of various locations around the Boiling Isles that covers the school. The students flee, and Hunter arrives, rescuing Gus and taking him away from the scene. Adrian and the Coven scouts end up in an unknown location, and Adrian, impressed, orders the scouts to find Gus.
As Amity and Willow run from the scouts, Willow tries to fight them off, but Amity keeps getting in her way, much to her frustration. They find out everyone else is in the healing homeroom and head there. Meanwhile, Gus tries to ask Hunter why he is camping in the school, but Hunter at the moment is shocked to learn that Luz hasn't been accounted for, nor has she contacted her friends. They run into Coven Scouts whom Hunter fights off until they recognize him as the Golden Guard and tell him that Belos is looking for him, deeply frightening him. Gus, wrapped in vines and standing in abomination goo, counterattacks by drawing a fire glyph in the goo, and the boys run off and hide in a classroom. Hunter starts to hyperventilate and go through a panic attack now that the Emperor's Coven knows his whereabouts, but Gus shows him the breathing exercise Willow taught him when he was younger, helping him settle down. Gus asks Hunter why he ran away from the Emperor's Coven, but he refuses to explain. Gus explains that he used to think people to wanted to be his friend had an ulterior motive before meeting Willow, Luz, and the others.
Meanwhile, Amity and Willow duel more guards, but Amity messes up things for Willow, upsetting her. Amity insists that she has her back and deserves to protect her, but Willow makes it clear that she wants to be seen for who she is now, shaking off a guard. Now seeing her mistake, Amity relents. Meanwhile, Hunter and Gus run into Willow, and while Gus is relieved to see her, Hunter realizes that she is a fake, as she is acting uncharacteristically scared of him. Furious, Adrian then dispels the illusion, and after revealing himself, takes Gus as Hunter is put to sleep by a Coven Scout. When he wakes up, he finds himself in the healing homeroom, and he blurts out that Adrian has captured Gus. Initially, the students, Bump, and the Illusion teacher refuse to believe him, but when he mentions the breathing technique, Willow confirms that he is not lying. Bump rallies the Hexside students, and Willow finally allows Amity to help fight alongside her now that she understands that she is powerful. At the gym, where there is an illusion of the Looking Glass Ruins, Adrian attempts to use Gus' memories as a means to obtain the galdorstones; however, the spell backfires and causes Gus to be incased in a blue sphere, which when touched showed a person's worst nightmares. Due to this, Adrian, along with two other guards, are shown their worst nightmares. This also ends up dispelling the labyrinth illusion. Outside the gym, Bump and the students fight the guards barricading it, and Willow and Amity are forced to fight an improved Abomaton and rekindle a part of their friendship; Hunter enters the gym and sees Gus encasing his enemies in their worst nightmares. Breaking through the illusion, Hunter calms him down, and the labyrinth-like spell finally dispels completely. Willow reunites with Gus, and the two share a hug with Hunter.
The Emperor's Coven leaves, with Adrian being dragged away, as he has been too traumatized by the spell to move. The captain threatens to tell Belos about what transpired, but Principal Bump declares that he's sure Belos will be thrilled to learn that one of his Coven Heads was defeated by a couple of teenagers. In addition, Severine, a Coven Scout, is so fed up with the pressure and abuse within the Emperor's Coven that she quits her job in a rage, making the whole school cheer. Amity congratulates Gus on taking down a Coven Head, with Gus noting that he almost went down with him. Everyone at Hexside then starts asking Hunter if he left the Emperor's Coven and about the Day of Unity, he tells them there's a lot to explain. However, Bump urges him to tell them.
Cast
- Issac Ryan Brown as Gus Porter
- Carter Jones as Young Gus
- Tati Gabrielle as Willow Park
- Mae Whitman as Amity Blight
- Zeno Robinson as Hunter
- Bumper Robinson as Principal Bump
- Ryan O'Flanagan as Edric Blight
- Erica Lindbeck as Emira Blight
- Noshir Dalal as Adrian Graye Vernworth
Additional voices
- Dee Bradley Baker as Guard Captain
- Kimberly Brooks as Skara
- Matt Chapman as Gus' partner, Illusion student, Coven Scouts
- Jorge Diaz as Mattholomule
- Rachael MacFarlane as Illusion teacher, Coven Scouts
- Ally Maki as Viney
- Dana Terrace as Severine, Coven Scouts
Non-speaking cameo
- Bo
- Boscha
- Amelia
- Jerbo
- Moon girl
- Cat
- Eileen
- Emperor Belos (illusion)
- Inner Belos (flashbacks)
Mentioned
Other characters
- Flapjack
- Barcus
- Ghost
- Clover
- Frewin
- Emmiline Bailey Marcostimo
- Skara's palisman
- Puddles
- Abomaton
- Bria (illusion)
- Gavin (illusion)
- Angmar (illusion)
Title in other languages
| Language | Title | Translation | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
 Spanish (Latin America)
|
Corredores de laberinto | Labyrinth Runners | |
 Mandarin
|
幻術迷宮 | Maze in Illusion | |
 Czech
|
Běžci z labyrintu | Labyrinth Runners | |
 German
|
Im Labyrinth | In the Labyrinth | The episode was originally called "Labyrinth-Läufer" (Labyrinth Runners) but was changed for the final release. |
 French
|
Comme dans un labyrinthe | Like in a Labyrinth | |
 Hebrew
|
רצים במבוך | Running in the Labyrinth | |
 Italian
|
Corridoi nel labirinto | "Hallways in the Labyrinth" or "Hallways in the Maze" | The words "corridoi" (hallways) and "corridori" (runners) are very similar. It's probably a transcription error. Despite that, the word "corridori" commonly means "racer". |
 Japanese
|
迷宮の逃走者たち | Labyrinth Fugitives | |
 Dutch
|
Labyrinthrenners | Labyrinth Runners | |
 Portuguese
|
Navegantes do Labirinto | Labyrinth Navigators |
Transcript
| For a full transcript of "Labyrinth Runners", click here. |
Gallery
Click here to view the gallery.
Trivia
- Viewership: This episode was watched by 0.27 viewers on its premiere.[3]
- This is the only episode throughout the series in which Luz does not physically appear, making this the only episode where the main cast do not appear at all. This is also the only episode not to have Sarah-Nicole Robles as part of the voice cast.
- Henceforth, every single character from the show has been absent physically for at least one episode and their voice actors have not been featured to voice anybody.
- Luz, however, is mentioned by Amity and appears in one of Gus' memories of pictures with him and Willow.
- Additionally, Luz is the only known multi-track student who doesn't appear.
- The Illusion Coven Head witch, Adrian Graye Vernworth, makes his speaking debut.
- The hidden message for this episode appears when Gus and Hunter run into the illusion wall:
, which translates to "below". - This marks the first time since "Something Ventured, Someone Framed" where Skara performs any sort of magic onscreen, and the first time overall where Cat does so.
- Boscha and Amelia only appear during the gym scene and disappear for the rest of the episode after the illusion is cast.
- Principal Bump is seen using his palisman, Frewin, in combat for the first time.
- This episode was later uploaded to YouTube on May 30, 2022,[6] making this the fourth episode (following "A Lying Witch and a Warden", "Separate Tides" and "Eclipse Lake") to later be uploaded in full to YouTube.
- However, the video has since been made private.
- Contrary to her first episode, where she had little skill and didn't enjoy it, this episode (in the opening flashback) shows that Willow could make Abominations okay.
- This episode premiered the same day as the penultimate episode of Amphibia, "All In".
- This is the final episode in which Gus, Amity, Edric, Amelia, and Cat wear their Hexside uniforms.
- Not counting the nightmare scenarios in "Watching and Dreaming", the same goes for Willow and Boscha.
Revelations and significant events
- Gus and Willow met each other while they were both hiding in a classroom, and she taught him how to alleviate the symptoms of a panic attack.
- Several students have transferred to multi-track and joined additional tracks alongside their original track:
- Emira's second track is healing.
- Edric's second and third tracks are beast keeping and potions.
- Mattholomule's second track is illusions.
- The photo class teacher is in the Illusion Coven.
- Luz has been sending messages to tell Amity what happened to her, although they are vague at best.
- Amity continues to underestimate Willow's true capabilities, much to her annoyance. However, Amity later realizes and accepts them after seeing Willow in action.
- Hunter was forced into hiding after discovering the truth about Belos and his plans and has been hiding in the closed Hexside theater called "Paranoratorium" (an amalgam of "paranormal" and "oratorium").
- He had to subsist on Hex Mix and food Flapjack brought from the school's garbage cans.
- Among the possessions in Hunter's hideout are books about grimwalkers titled Grimwalkers Extinction, The Legend of Grimwalkers, and Grim Walkers, implying he has been researching about his origins.
- He hadn't had the opportunity to take a shower while hiding in the theater, implying that a few days have passed from how Gus reacts to him.
- The name of the Illusion Coven Head Witch is revealed to be Adrian Graye.
- Based on the closing credits, his full name appears to be Adrian Graye Vernworth.
- He also appears to be on Emperor Belos' side.
- Belos has decreed that all young witches must be placed in a coven before the Day of Unity.
- Two more Coven Scouts have their name revealed: Tom and Severine.
- Severine quits by the end of the episode to return to the Tiny Cat Coven.
- Gus has the ability to conjure a massive memory illusion that makes others live through their worst memories, which Adrian states is a powerful magic.
- His eyes would also glow blue when this happens. The glowing eye can see through an illusion.
- Belos has ordered his Coven Scouts to track down Hunter.
- Belos is unaware of the location of the Looking Glass Graveyard.
- Principal Bump leads his entire school of teachers and students to resist the Emperor's Coven.
- At the end of the episode, Hunter notifies the Hexside faculty and students about the genocidal plans behind the Day of Unity.
Continuity
- This episode is set sometime during or after the events of "Edge of the World", as Willow mentions that she saw the Owl House being surrounded by Coven Scouts.
- The Paranoratorium of Hexside is still under repair after being damaged during the events of "The First Day".
- Hunter has been in hiding since the events of "Hollow Mind", while Amity mentions receiving Luz's message about the same encounter.
- Amity receives Luz's message from the devices she and Luz communicated with in "Eclipse Lake".
- Hunter briefly flashes back to his memories of Belos and the Golden Guard cemetery in "Hollow Mind".
- The student at the beginning is holding a Magic 101 book that first appeared in "Adventures in the Elements".
- Both Edric and Emira joined additional tracks which they were seen to have mastered in "Reaching Out".
- Gus' giant illusion consists of scenes from "Covention", "Something Ventured, Someone Framed", "Really Small Problems", and "Through the Looking Glass Ruins", as well as illusions of the Glandus High students from the latter episode.
- Adrian interrogates Gus about the Looking Glass Ruins and mentions looking for the galdorstones in the aforementioned episode.
- Gus uses glyph magic for the second time since the aforementioned episode and the first time drawing the glyph himself, as he had used pre-drawn glyph cards from Luz prior. The glyph he draws, the fire glyph, was one of the cards he prominently used.
- Gus' room includes the picture of himself, Luz, Willow, and Amity in "Enchanting Grom Fright", and the "Banned" posters of the former three from "Escaping Expulsion".
- Gus, Willow, Skara, and Viney recognize Hunter as their teammate from "Any Sport in a Storm", and Hunter is currently wearing part of his Emerald Entrails sports attire.
- Later, Hunter notes Willow is the team's fearless captain when he identifies the overly timid Willow he and Gus encountered as an impostor.
- Skara's ability to create suitable strategies is hinted at again, as she claims planning's her favorite part.
- Flapjack forced Hunter to seek help from others when he did not wish to by pulling his hair while flying around just like in "Eclipse Lake", where he pulled Hunter's hair and had him stumble in front of Eda, King, and Amity (which is also likely the reason why he revealed himself to Gus).
Allusions
- The Thing - One of the posters seen in Gus' room is similar to the poster of the movie.
- Sailor Moon - When Amity and Willow were about to fight off one of the scouts, they do one of Sailor Moon's poses from the titular anime.
- The Maze Runner - The episode's title is a play on the name of the sci-fi novel The Maze Runner.
Errors
- When young Gus says, "You've done it again, Augustus," his voice starts before his mouth moves.
- One of Emira's hands is missing while healing Skara's wound as Amity protects them during the fight against the Coven Guards.
- As Willow, Amity, and Hunter enter the cafeteria to see Gus trapped in the illusion spell, the shadow cast on Amity's hand is layered incorrectly, causing it to appear over Willow's hand.
Videos
References
- ↑ "Disney Channel on Twitter" (Tweet) (March 15, 2022).
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "May 2022 Programming Highlights". Disney General Entertainment Content (April 20, 2022).
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Salem, Mitch (May 10, 2022). "Saturday 5.7.2022 Top 150 Cable Originals & Network Finals". Showbuzz Daily.
- ↑ https://twitter.com/disneychanneljp/status/1594171173306306560
- ↑ "Labyrinth Runners concept - Matthieu Cousin (1)".
- ↑ Labyrinth Runners | S2 E18 | Full Episode | The Owl House | Disney Channel Animation (Video) (English). YouTube. Disney Channel YouTube channel (May 30, 2022). Archived from the original on 2022-05-31. Retrieved on 2022-05-31.